Trust is central to relationships between patients and health care providers. Patients who are more trusting of their providers tend to be more satisfied with their treatment, behave in ways that are more beneficial to their health, report fewer symptoms and have a higher quality of life. Research and interventions related to trust overwhelmingly focus on patients’ trust in physicians. But trust should be reciprocal in order to facilitate sustained physician-patient partnerships. Physicians need to trust their patients to provide reliable information, participate in complex and potentially high-stakes decisions and follow treatment plans.